November 30, 200909-105Superintendent Mary Gibson Scott is pleased to announce that a $25,000 donation was recently presented to the Grand Teton Association by Mark Kornmann of the National Park Foundation on behalf of Carole Hays, a Foundation board member. Hays offered her generous donation as a personal thank you to Grand Teton National Park and its employees who conducted a backcountry rescue of her this past summer. Hays’ substantial donation will be used to help establish a new “friends group” in support of the park’s search and rescue (SAR) program based at Jenny Lake—a program that performs multiple SAR operations each year.

Although Grand Teton and other parks have access to a national funding source specifically designed to defray costs associated with rescue incidents, there are often shortfalls in the funding needed for proficiency training and exercises, new and advanced SAR equipment, and a myriad of other associated costs. Through this donation and the creation of a friends group for Grand Teton's SAR program, a sustainable fund source will be available to support the efforts necessary in maintaining a highly-trained rescue team and fully-equipped rescue cache. The new friends group will enable Grand Teton to perform and fund vital SAR operations now and into the future.

The Grand Teton Association, the long-term cooperating association and partner of Grand Teton National Park, has accepted Hays’ donation on behalf of the park and established a dedicated account for this and other donations that may be directed specifically to support the park’s SAR program. The donation check was presented from the National Park Foundation to the Grand Teton Association through a grant agreement, establishing the Association as the fiscal manager of a Grand Teton National Park restricted “Search and Rescue” account.

“We are extremely fortunate to have such a dedicated and highly-skilled rescue staff at Grand Teton: a staff that is continually prepared to spring into action whenever the need arises,” said Superintendent Scott. “We are also very appreciative that Carole Hays has provided such a generous gift—the seed money to begin a new funding source that will help in assisting other visitors during their greatest time of need.” Superintendent Scott added, “With this generous check, Carole has created new opportunities for Grand Teton to provide critical care to those who may find themselves in need of rescue and medical care. Her generosity will benefit countless others.”

09-104Superintendent Mary Gibson Scott announced today that the rule implementing the winter use plan for Grand Teton National Park and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, November 20, 2009. The winter use plan allows snowmobile access for the purpose of ice fishing only on the frozen surface of Jackson Lake, and allows snowmobiles to use the Grassy Lake Road between Flagg Ranch Resort and the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. On Jackson Lake, snowmobiles must meet National Park Service air and sound emissions requirements for Best Available Technology (BAT). The requirement does not apply to snowmobile use on the Grassy Lake Road.

The published rule will implement a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) signed last month by National Park Service Intermountain Region Director Mike Snyder. The FONSI and the winter use environmental assessment are available online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/, and the winter use rule will be available at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/browse.html.

Highway 26/89/191 from Jackson, Wyoming to Flagg Ranch Resort in the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway is open and plowed for wheeled vehicles throughout the winter season. This road provides access to a wide range of recreational opportunities including wildlife viewing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and ice fishing. The Teton Park Road is closed to vehicle traffic during the winter season from Taggart Lake parking area to Signal Mountain Lodge—a distance of fifteen miles. The unplowed roadway is groomed and serves as a winter trail for cross-country skiing, skate skiing and snowshoeing.

The Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center near park headquarters at Moose, Wyoming is open year-round and offers ranger-led snowshoe hikes each day from December 26 through late March. For information about winter activities and road conditions, please contact the Discovery Center at 307.739.3399. For a full range of winter information, please visit the park’s Web site at www.nps.gov/grte.

Information on lodging, restaurants, activities and other visitor services offered in the community of Jackson, near Grand Teton, can be obtained from the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce at 307.733.3316 or http://www.jacksonholechamber.com/. Information is also available from the Office of Wyoming Travel and Tourism at 800.225.5996 or http://www.wyomingtourism.org/.

09-103Superintendent Mary Gibson Scott extends an invitation to local residents to join an upcoming Laurance S. Rockefeller (LSR) Preserve book club discussion on Vintage Lopez, a book containing essays and short stories by author Barry Lopez. The book club discussion will take place Thursday, November 19, from 4 - 6 p.m. on the historic Murie Ranch in Grand Teton National Park. This event is being co-hosted by The Murie Center; the Teton County Library Foundation has offered to provide complimentary copies of Vintage Lopez to the first ten people that R.S.V.P. to attend the discussion.

In an effort to inspire a spirit of conversation stewardship, the LSR Preserve book club was created this past summer and designed to explore literature that examines our connection to the natural world. This will be the third LSR Preserve book club discussion. This session coincides with the Teton County Library and Library Foundation's “Page to Podium” speaker series—featuring Barry Lopez—which is scheduled for December 3, 2009 in Jackson, Wyoming.

Barry Lopez is an essayist, author, and short-story writer. He is the author of Arctic Dreams, Of Wolves and Men, Field Notes, Resistance, and Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape. His essays are collected in Crossing Open Ground, About This Life, and Vintage Lopez—a collection of five essays, an excerpt from Arctic Dreams and six short stories published in 2004. In his nonfiction, Lopez writes often about the relationship between the physical landscape and human culture. In his fiction, he frequently addresses issues of intimacy, ethics, and identity.

To sign up for the book club discussion, or learn more about this event and how to obtain a copy of the book, please call Grand Teton National Park at 307.739.3656.